It was prompted by the accident on 7 February 2006 on the UPS DC-8 aircraft; Applies to lithium batteries/cells transported in cargo aeroplanes or in the cargo holds of passenger aeroplanes; …
The other 46 involved batteries brought aboard commercial flights in passengers' pockets or carry-on luggage. Electronic cigarettes/vaping devices were the suspected culprit in nineteen lithium battery incidents that involved smoke, fire, or extreme heat on passenger aircraft.
Below is a summary of each lithium battery incident involving air cargo, as recorded by FAA on the Lithium Battery Air Incidents chart. Improper packaging, along with damage to batteries during sorting or loading, were common factors contributing to these air cargo incidents.
This list does not include three major aircraft accidents where lithium battery cargo shipments were implicated but not proven to be the source of the fire: An Asiana Airlines 747 near South Korea on July 28, 2011, a UPS 747 in Dubai, UAE on September 3, 2010 and a UPS DC-8 in Philadelphia, PA on February 7, 2006
US FAA’s latest report on lithium battery aviation incidents shows 55 incidents that involved a battery smoking, igniting, or producing extreme heat aboard aircraft in 2022. Of those 55 incidents, nine involved lithium batteries shipped on cargo aircraft.
A large shipment of lithium batteries ignited, possibly when loose battery connections came into contract inside the packaging. This caused a thermal runaway event. Lithium batteries must be packaged in a way that prevents short circuits and damage to battery terminals.
The package was brought outside the building and the fire was extinguished. A package of lithium polymer batteries for remote control aircraft was being transported by UPS from Argentina to San Marino via Cologne, Germany.